As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system (IHS) generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
Portable information handling systems, such as laptop computers and 2-in-1 computers, may generally comprise a lid that is rotationally coupled to a base of the IHS. In a traditional clamshell configuration, the lid may be rotationally coupled to the base, so that the lid articulates between a closed position (approximately 0°) to a variety of open positions (e.g., up to approximately 360°) to expose a display screen of the IHS to the user. When the IHS is not in use, the lid may be rotated back to the closed position to enhance portability of the IHS. In general, one or more hinges may be coupled between the lid and the base on a rear surface of the IHS to provide the articulation desired in the clamshell configuration.
In some cases, an information handling system may include one or more display screens for displaying information to the user when the lid is rotated to an open position, and one or more sensors for determining an orientation of the lid with respect to the base (or vice versa). For example, some IHSs may include a sensor on the lid (or on the base) to determine an angle (otherwise referred to as the “hinge angle”) between the lid and the base. In such systems, the hinge angle (θ) provided by the sensor may be used to determine whether, e.g., the lid is in a closed/open position, or the system is being used in laptop or tablet mode. In some cases, the hinge angle provided by the sensor may be used by a processing device of the IHS to perform an action for the IHS, such as changing a display orientation of a display screen (e.g., changing between portrait and landscape orientations), changing operating system user states and application modes, and changing backlight segmentation illumination.
Some information handling systems include an eye tracking system to detect the position and/or gaze direction of the user's eyes. In one example, an eye tracking system may include at least one light source positioned to illuminate the user's eyes, at least one photosensor (or camera) positioned to detect light reflected off the user's eyes, and a control unit or other processing device, which is configured to generate eye tracking data based on the light reflected off the user's eyes and detected by the photosensor(s) of the eye tracking system.
As shown in FIG. 1, the generated eye tracking data may include, for example, a gaze point (GP), gaze direction (α), one or more gaze vectors (G1 and/or G2), and/or an inter-pupillary distance (IPD) measurement. The gaze point (GP) is the location of the user's gaze (i.e., the point or region where the user is looking) on a gaze interaction plane (P). The gaze direction (α) is the direction or angle of the user's gaze towards the gaze interaction plane. A gaze vector (G1 or G2) includes the gaze direction (α) and the distance (i.e., the magnitude of the gaze vector) between the gaze point (GP) on the gaze interaction plane (P) and one of the user's eyes located on a pupil plane (E). The inter-pupillary distance (IPD) is the distance between the user's pupils. Some eye tracking systems may be configured to provide all of the eye tracking data mentioned above, while other eye tracking systems may provide only a subset of this data.
To generate eye tracking data, the control unit or other processing device of the eye tracking system may detect “glints” or reflections of light, which are reflected off the user's eyes and detected by the photosensor(s) or camera(s) of the eye tracking system. The detection of “glints” and the calculation of eye tracking data may be achieved using a variety of well-known techniques (including 2D and/or 3D techniques). Once calculated by the eye tracking system, the eye tracking data can be used by a processing device of an IHS to perform an action for the IHS, such as performing operation system window management.
Some information handling systems include a single eye tracking system for tracking the location of the user's gaze on a plurality of display screens. FIG. 2 illustrates an information handling system (IHS) in which a first display screen (“Display 1”) is rotationally coupled to a second display screen (“Display 2”) via a hinge, which enables the display screens to be positioned at a variety of hinge angles (θ). In the dual-screen system shown in FIG. 2, a single eye tracking system (“s”) is mounted onto the first display screen near a bottom peripheral portion of the display screen at an origin point (0, 0, 0). Alternatively, the eye tracking system could be mounted onto the first display screen near a top peripheral portion of the display screen, or could be mounted onto a top or bottom peripheral portion of the second display screen.
When mounted onto the first display screen as shown in FIG. 2, the single eye tracking system may generate relatively accurate eye tracking data when the user's gaze is directed toward the first display screen, since the first display screen is parallel to (or lies within) the gaze interaction plane (P) of the eye tracking system. In some cases, for example, the eye tracking system may provide a relatively accurate gaze point, i (x, y, z), and gaze vector (G) when the user gazes upon the first display screen (“Display 1”). In some cases, a relatively accurate location of the user's eye, e (x, y, z), may also be provided by the eye tracking system as eye tracking data, or may be calculated from the eye tracking data (e.g., gaze point and gaze vector) provided by the eye tracking system.
However, a problem may arise in the dual-screen system shown in FIG. 2 when the user's gaze is directed toward the second display screen (“Display 2”). When the user gazes upon the second display screen, the eye tracking system generates eye tracking data (e.g., gaze point, gaze vector, and/or eye location, etc.) relative to the gaze interaction plane (P) of the eye tracking system. If the second display screen is rotated away from the gaze interaction plane (e.g., if any hinge angle, θ, other than 180° exists between Display 1 and Display 2), the eye tracking data generated by the eye tracking system will not be accurate when the user gazes upon the second display screen. A need, therefore, remains for a system and method that improves the accuracy of the eye tracking data generated by an eye tracking system when the user's gaze is not directed to the gaze interaction plane (P) of the eye tracking system.